Book Review: Change

by: Soraya Lane

Available at Amazon

Synopsis:
When her twin sister dies of a mysterious heart condition, Riley King is sent to her grandma’s ranch. But instead of the isolation she’s been aching for, she learns of a family secret that’s been deliberately kept from her, until now.

As if finding out she’s actually a leopard wasn't enough shock for one vacation, Riley meets Hunter Logan … the guy she’s promised to. For life. But Riley has no intention of being told what to do by anyone, certainly not some stubborn, dominant shifter. Even if he can make her purr, her claws are slicing out. Until Riley realizes that not fulfilling her destiny would commit her sister to a life on the other side without her.

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This is a fairly well written, fast paced novel. Riley isn’t such a bad heroin, and Hunter is obviously smokin’! Riley can’t think of any other way to get over her sister’s death than by spending the summer with her grandmother. But turns out she can shift into a black panther, along with a bunch of others in that area. Her grandmother is the leader of the pack and wants Riley to take over. Oh she’s also supposed to “mate” with Hunter.

The story does grab you and it reads so fast. Perfect vacation read! There were a couple of things in the plot that bothered me though.

The inconsistencies in the story. Riley’s mother isn’t a panther and her grandmother tells her it skips a generation. But Hunter’s entire family are leopards, so why the difference? Never explained.

And if they are all leopards, why are they behaving like wolves? Hunter tells her they mate for life and live in a pack. Now if you read up on leopards like I did while reading this story – I thought maybe black leopards are one of the weird cats that might do that. Nope, they hate other leopards in their area and mate when it’s time and then go their separate ways. They are unique though, they are the only smaller cat that can roar.

Then she’s never met any of the other leopards, doesn’t know them at all. And they are all like “ok, strange girl who didn’t even know she could do this 2 weeks ago…you tell us what to do.” I just wasn’t buying it. I like the idea of her not knowing, but I’m not about to believe she will become the venerated leader overnight.

And finally, a little ewww factor. I’m not happy that all that sex stuff (I will concede there really isn't a whole lot of this) is going on and the girl is only 17. If I’m reading about people getting all sweaty and stuff, could they both at least be in their early 20s? Not still a kid.

I did zoom through it though, so that all being said it was a captivating story.

Book Review: Dancing Naked in Dixie

by: Lauren Clark

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:
Travel writer Julia Sullivan lives life in fast-forward. She jet sets to Europe and the Caribbean with barely a moment to blink or sleep. But too many mishaps and missed deadlines have Julia on the verge of being fired.

With a stern warning, and unemployment looming, she's offered one last chance to rescue her career. Julia embarks on an unlikely journey to the ‘Heart of Dixie’—Eufaula, Alabama—home to magnificent mansions, sweet tea, and the annual Pilgrimage.

Julia arrives, soon charmed by the lovely city and her handsome host, but her stay is marred by a shocking discovery. Can Julia's story save her career, Eufaula, and the annual Pilgrimage?

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Before we have any misunderstandings, I did enjoy this story...for the most part. Julia did start getting on my nerves when she had accident after accident and whatever man happened to be around jumped in to take care of her.

The other issue that popped up were the numerous inconsistencies. I was honestly surprised to see the number of early readers she thanked. They really should have let her know about them. Take the boyfriend, for example. Early in the book she goes into how he hates traveling, really hates it and so they work out well because she is so exhausted from the traveling she does all the time so it doesn't bother her they never go anywhere. Then later on Julia thinks about how he took her to New Orleans for her birthday and on a sky diving trip...you see where I'm going here?

But around that, I did enjoy the story. Julia made great friends down south, even though she never wanted to go there. She learned more about her estranged father than she ever thought possible. And she met a man, although romance was not at the center of this story. She has a boyfriend nearly all the way through it, and I respect that Julia knew she wasn't a very good girlfriend.

Julia isn't a stagnant character either. She goes through a lot of changes, and likes who she is more at the end than at the beginning. I like her more too, although I didn't think she was that rude at the beginning.